PopHorror Let's Get Scared
I grew up in one of the greatest generations known. There was a magic in the air, especially when it came to pop culture. Our plates were served full of iconic moments in Television, Hollywood, and the world at large. Tank Girl is a movie that hits every note. It is a film that stands strong today as iconic.
Even if you haven’t read the comics, I can guarantee you still know her name. Tank Girl is that ultra-furious female who helped spawn a movement. A movement that lets girls be angry and ferocious. Tank Girl helped give these women purpose and inspiration. However, it didn’t stop there. Tank Girl even gave the alienated males a voice they could chant to. Let’s dive right into this iconic film.
Synopsis
Rebecca (Lori Petty) AKA Tank Girl and her friends are the only remaining citizens living in the wasteland that is Earth, where all the remaining water is controlled by Water and Power, the mega corporation/government that runs the territory. While incarcerated at W + P, Tank Girl and her new friend Jet Girl (Naomi Watts) break out and steal… a tank and a jet. After meeting some mutant kangaroo/humans, and rescuing her little girl (adopted by her friends), the kangaroos and the girls kick Water and Powers’ butt.
The Rundown
Tank Girl hit every nerve for me as a kid. It was a movie that I would play repeatedly because, in my 12-year-old mind that had just found punk rock, this movie was the greatest thing since sliced bread. It was a movie that my aunt had to keep recording for me because I wore out the VHS. What was it that I loved? Every single detail of this film is great. I was one of those boys back then that I mentioned before. I was an easy target for everyone, for some strange reason. Even the outcasts didn’t like me. Tank Girl gave me that booming voice that spoke volumes without a word.
Tank Girl came at a time when everything about movies was perfect. Fixated on alternative music and the pains of growing up, movies like Tank Girl shaped me. I was a lot older in my mind and related to all those starving artist types. Maybe that’s why I became a writer, and if that’s the case, then Tank Girl helped me with this too. Everything about the film showed the love that was put into filming. It seemed as if it was such a good time.
The cast is drowning in 90s alternative stars. With names like Ice-T and Lori Petty coming to bat. One of the things I love so much is the chemistry between the characters. Some may call it “overacting,” but it fills that void in life. You can laugh your pain away and still be a cool “Tattooed gum-chewing freak” as a disenfranchised “Xennial”.
In The End
The background sets are spot-on with how my brain perceived them from the comics. The tone of the movie is set perfectly; when the characters are happy, you are. When they are scared or sad, so are you because the emotion pours out. I don’t have one bad thing to say in the end. Tank Girl is a movie that every young girl should see so that she can find the growl inside of her. The film will always be iconic, and I enjoy it as much today with my daughters, teaching them that it’s perfectly fine to think outside the box and find that courage within.
Maybe yours will build a really cool tank for you.
